Reclamation

It won't always be like this. I'll be free during my off-shift time. She's just contracted to watch me while I work.

Which means she's contracted to watch the dataflow on my terminal. I will have to keep that always in mind. The itch intensified.

Witnesses are necessary, Basq reminded himself. Especially now that we are dealing with artifacts again. The artifactsdefeated the ancestors because they were able to rob them of the information needed to quell the rebellion. They will not be able to do that to us. They will not be able to win that way even if they retain any knowledge of their rebellion and the Flight. In each of the three thousand cores there were sequestered twenty-four Witnesses with eidetic memory. They held all the vital knowledge of the Rhudolant Vitae. When her contract was completed, Winema would not only transfer her camera's record into one of the datastores, she would recite her memory of Basq to one of the Witnesses in the Hundredth Core. If the artifacts wanted to wipe out all the history and learning of the Vitae again, they would have to murder all the Eidetic Witnesses.

But ruining the Ancestor's datastores was not all they did to defeat the Ancestors, was it? Under the gaze of the Witness, Basq felt the shackles of responsibility take hold. They have obviously retained their abilities. If they have retained any portion of their memory, any portion of the Flight, how are we going to find a way to stop them from moving the Home Ground out of reach again?

With an effort of will, Basq shoved the doubts aside. We will find the knowledge. I will find the knowledge.

Basq knew it was an arrogant idea, but he did not hesitate to admit to himself that it was also a pleasant one.

Planning his strategies made the trip back to the Grand Errand bearable. The itch on the back of his scalp never quite went away, but he was able to cover his awareness of it with lists of things he needed to accomplish in the next seventy-two hours.

Caril was waiting for him when he and Winema emerged from the shuttle into the Grand Errand's gold-and-mauve receiving area.

"Welcome home, Husband," she said as she made her obeisance, bending over the small stack of holosheets she carried.

"Wherever you stand to welcome me is home, Wife." The cliche was a little informal, considering the circumstances, but well within the bounds of propriety.

"These are the contracts which arrived in your absence."

She handed him the sheets. "I have verified their origins and reviewed them for completeness."

Excellent, thought Basq, as he shuffled through the stack of sheets. This will demonstrate her efficiency and my trust in her. The heat from his hands and the patterns of his fingerprints activated the displays on each sheet as he touched it. The stack held the contract from Avir and Kelat, as well as the subcontract labeling him Beholden to Ivale. Basq felt warm breath upon his cheek and almost jumped out of his skin. Winema was reading over his shoulder.

I will get used to this, I will get used to this. He waited until his hands stopped shaking to give the sheets back to Caril. "Thank you. You should record my acknowledgment of receipt as soon as we return to our quarters."

"I will make this my work," she said. Caril took her place beside him and they left the receiving hall for the corridor to the lifts. Winema followed without a sound.